The appearance of a new French-American walnut oil made in Northern California has knocked all other competitors out of the salad bowl, according to the results of our recent tasting.

The toasty, nutty taste of La Tourangelle ($8.10 for 16.9 ounces, Rainbow) so impressed the tasters that they awarded this oil 89 out of a possible 100 points -- enough to catapult La Tourangelle into the Taster's Choice Hall of Fame, for products that score 80 or more in a blind tasting.

La Tourangelle is pressed from roasted walnuts at a mill in Woodland. The company is a partnership of California Oils Corp. of Richmond and a 150-year- old French oil mill, Les Huileries de la Croix Verte et La Tourangelle.

The walnut oil started showing up in local markets about two years ago, coinciding with a surge of interest in foods containing walnuts because of their healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

"Great oil, good flavor of roasted walnut. The best," said one chef on the tasting panel. "Toasty flavor -- the best of the lot; the finish is pure and nutty," said another taster, who gave it a perfect score. "Smooth," said a third.

Another chef thought the oil tasted as though the walnuts were "a little overroasted," but he still thought it was very good and gave it a near-perfect score. All five tasters would buy this oil.

None of the other oils, even the most expensive ones, came close, the tasters said. The oils made from roasted nuts tended to have stronger flavors; the rest were more neutral, though most still had some walnut taste.

Second-place G. Vivier ($11.95 for 17 ounces, Draeger's), a French oil, was much lighter in taste than the winner. Some of the tasters liked it, but some wanted more walnut flavor. "Has no nut flavor at all," said one.

One would buy this oil, three might and one wouldn't.

International Collection ($4.79 for 8.45 ounces, Rainbow), which won our last walnut oil tasting in 1994, came in third this time.

"The oil is smooth, but the nut flavor is so mild it would disappear when combined with anything," said one taster.

Two might buy this brand, but three would not.

The rest of the brands -- including a French oil that costs $14.75 for 8.5 ounces -- had off flavors. One tasted more like sesame oil; another had a burnt flavor. And one was rancid, which is an issue with nut oils. They spoil easily, and when buying them there's no way to tell how long they've been on the shelf.

At home, they should be refrigerated to preserve their flavor and keep them from going bad.

Walnut oil

La Tourangelle 89

G. Vivier 59

Int'l Collection 45

Eric Bur 38

R. Genou 23

Spectrum 18

Diamond 15

Panelists were John Carroll, cookbook author, San Francisco; Mark Dommen, chef, One Market, San Francisco; Quinn Hatfield, chef, Cortez, San Francisco; Donna Katzl, chef-owner, Cafe for All Seasons, San Francisco; Roland Passot, chef-owner, La Folie and five Left Banks. All products are tasted blind; a perfect score would be 100. Prices listed are the lowest found, but products may be available at other stores.